Bonneville (2008)

O Masterpiece
O Excellent
O Good
X OK
O Mediocrity
O Avoid

Review by Jason Pyles / March 18, 2008

“Have you ever tried to imagine that moment … the day you come home alone?” So asks the newly widowed Arvilla Holden (Jessica Lange), as she writes her step-daughter a letter whose narration pervades “Bonneville.”

Joe Holden died unexpectedly while visiting Borneo. Now, his second wife of 20 years and his unpleasant daughter from his first marriage, Francine (Christine Baranski), must make arrangements for the funeral and settle the estate. Arvilla promised Joe that he would be cremated and his ashes spread abroad, amid the natural world that he so loved. But Francine wishes for her father’s remains to be buried with her mother, in Santa Barbara. Joe’s outdated will left his (and Arvilla’s) home in Idaho to Francine, who exploits this predicament to coerce Arvilla to transport her husband’s urn to California.

All of this is merely the set-up for “Bonneville,” a road movie, which is also a buddy movie. It follows Arvilla’s wrestle to decide whether to break her promise to her late husband or lose her home. But she has about a week to think it over, while she and her two best friends, Margene (Kathy Bates) and Carol (Joan Allen), take an adventurous road trip in Joe’s Bonneville convertible from Idaho, through the scenic west, to California for the funeral. (Allen, by the way, plays the clichéd, goody-goody Mormon lady.)

“Bonneville” is director Christopher Rowley’s first feature-length film. His only other work, “The Remembering Movies” (2002), is a short film about a grandson who makes movies to help his grandmother’s failing memory. Both films address the theme of finite family relationships.

Rowley is a decent storyteller, though “Bonneville” tends to lull, here and there, which affects the momentum of a film whose narrative is designed to culminate in dramatic fireworks. But it backslides during the climb. For example, our travelers encounter a wild party in the desert — and they even seek to join in the festivities. We expect that our girls will get in over their heads, but no. The next scene gives us a quiet moment by a campfire, with partiers nowhere in sight.

There are other problems. In one scene the women encounter a couple of thieves, which turns into an unbelievable and awkwardly choreographed skirmish. “Ridiculous” seems a fitting word. But “Bonneville’s” biggest disappointment is its subdued cinematography. Jeffrey Kimball has wonderful subjects to shoot, such as the Bonneville Salt Flats, Lake Powell, and Bryce Canyon, but his photography looks washed out and hazy. Contrast this with the clear, crisp, vibrant cinematography in the scenic “Into the Wild” (2007), and see what could have been.

The real question in “Bonneville” is why isn’t anyone angry with Joe, especially Arvilla? After all, he’s the one who left his affairs in such an ambiguous state. But when we lose those we love most, we tend to exalt them to sainthood, forgetting their faults in mortality.

Of course, it always helps when the dearly departed leaves behind a convertible.

Directed by Christopher N. Rowley
Jessica Lange / Kathy Bates / Joan Allen
Drama / Comedy 93 min.
MPAA: PG (for some mild language and innuendo)

U.S. Release Date: February 29, 2008
Copyright 2008: 261

“Bonneville” is currently playing at Carmike Cinemas’ Wynnsong 12 theater in Provo.